One Sweet Day
by Android Kaeli
Summary: Set a week after the Cell games, Chi-Chi finds herself missing Goku and a spirit watching over her.


**One Sweet Day**

_Standard Disclaimer:_ Don't own Dragon Ball Z, or any of the Dragon Ball Z characters that are in this story. They are owned by those who own them. I just wrote the story. That is all

_Author's Note:_ I wrote this one-shot story oh so many years ago and decided to give it a minor face-lift. It is set at the end of the Cell Games.

Fear has a way of making even the most bravest of people fall down onto their knees and wonder what kind of horror they would see in the flashes of their lives. The fear of dieing had never been something they had been remotely afraid of, not even when they had stared it in the face for the first time. That had never been a problem for them, death, but fear of loosing what mattered most to them did. They made sure that, even if any one of them lost their lives, at least they would die knowing that their most precious treasures were still tucked away, safe from the tendrils of evil.

Fear had struck everyone at those last few moments, even those that dared not to fear what lay beyond the mirror of death. The fate of the Earth and the universe combined had taken in a deep breath and had waited, waited for this horror to end. They held their breath while they kept waiting, hoping that this hero would come to save them. Their lives depended on what this person did and the lives that it had touched so many times before.

And the hero did come.

The hero had been a young boy that had taken enough and stood up to yet another malevolent being that wanted to destroy the Earth as the few that had come before it had almost done so. The child had won a victory for those that did not know what had really gone on, but the victory had not come without a price that was to be paid. A price that was higher then before they knew that it had happened. There was nothing that could make the hollow feeling go again, not even the knowledge that their home was now safe once again would make the pain go away so soon.

Chi-Chi sat on the bed that she once had shared with her husband, Goku, unable to sleep again for dreams, nightmares, had ravaged her slumber. She was tired, naps only able to get her through the week that had transpired after the victory for the Earth. Her only child, Gohan, had fallen asleep in his father's place, still tired and worn from the battle for not only for his life but for the lives of the other living beings on the planet. He was also still battling the emotions that had left him still weak inside, that battle wouldn't be over just yet; he had gained freedom for the World but had lost his father yet again to something that he couldn't have controlled.

She took in a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm herself and to keep her tears away. She should have been more prepared for this, after all this was Goku and it shouldn't have come as a surprise to her that this had happened to him. Chi-Chi was thankful that her son had destroyed a vile monster -- a monster that shouldn't have been created in the first place -- while protecting the planet that they called home. It did not, however, stop the pain that was stabbing at her heart, her husband was gone and there was nothing that she could do about it. There had been so many things that she had wanted to say to him before this, but the opportunity was gone and passed. What could she do now?

Sighing, she wiped the tears from her face with the tissue that was in her hand before glancing at the time. Two thirty-four in the morning and no relief from her dreams. There was still time to try to get a decent amount of sleep but she wouldn't be able to fully get even an hours rest until her thoughts had calmed. Chi-Chi hadn't realized how much she had relied on having her full family in the house or at least had the knowledge that they were somewhere, fighting something that was threatening the universe again but still alive. That reality had been horribly shattered and was replaced by the horrible thought that not even Goku was immortal.

Her dreams had been the same, Goku being laid back during the days before he and the others had gone off to fight Cell. His face had been happy, his family had been happy, right before the true nightmare had begun. Chi-Chi had woke up screaming several times the night before, having seen her nightmare when Goku and Gohan both had been torn limb-by-limb apart by the crazed monster. It had been just a dream, the nightmare; Gohan was still there, still with all of his limbs and alive. That in itself was a relief, that her child was still alive and well enough to continue on.

Chi-Chi was more then sad, she was also _angry_ at Goku. He had said that he and Gohan didn't need any more training, that there had been no need for it. It had been a crazy thought, even to the others that fought along side him. It didn't dawn on anyone else that Goku _knew_ he was going to die, that he didn't tell anyone his plan since he figured they would try to stop him and not focus on the battle ahead. Although angry at that thought, Chi-Chi found that she couldn't stay angry with him for long; in a sense, she reasoned, Goku had saved them all by sacrificing himself.

She stood up, wrapping her arms around her to keep herself warm. There was a chill in the air that came to her every time she stood up in the room, every time she had looked around there was nothing in the room but herself. No windows had been opened as far as she knew or could remember, and the weather was more then well above any cold. The only door that would have let in any cold air was the one to her bedroom, yet it was half-way opened and the rest of the house was more then warm.

Walking to the windows, Chi-Chi paused there to peer out into the darkness beyond the walls. There was a starless sky above, hidden underneath a blanket of dark clouds that had settled there hours after the battle with Cell. She closed and opened her eyes several times, forcing herself to keep calm even after she had cried until her eyes hurt. She wished she could just forget it, hoping beyond this lingering doubt that her husband would come bounding in and start rambling how much training he and Piccolo had accomplished over the week. She would have yelled at him for making her worry about him, but in the end it was just a passing fantasy and a wife's hopeless daydream.

She turned and placed her back upon the freezing glass, her eyes opening enough to take in the outline of the bed. Gohan's small but strong figure was still sound asleep in the bed, not even fully aware of his mother's own tears. He knew and shared the pain of losing his father to the monster yet he didn't see all of it, that was saved for when no one was looking at her, when she could collapse from being strong for her child. She let him sleep through her cries and living nightmares, he had been through enough already without seeing her break down.

She had to laugh at herself, for making herself so miserable. Why was she? She had known what her husband was capable of and if Goku had been there watching her, he would have told her not to worry about anything and leave it at that. It was so simple for him to say that, even after Chi-Chi had yelled herself hoarse over it. Things said then had broke through the memories but in the end she couldn't take them back, she knew that she would have gone after him again for leaving her and his son behind. Would she have done that so soon?

Chi-Chi took in a deep breath and pushed herself from the window to keep herself moving. She walked around the room several times to keep her mind busy, keeping an eye on Gohan's still form and wishing that she could sleep just as easily as he did. Sleep lingered right there just beyond her reach but it would not come easily to her. She had not sleept for more then sixteen hours in the last seven days but she made herself walk to the bed and sit back down on the edge of the bed, at least having the intent of laying down so Gohan wouldn't roll over to find his mother gone.

Before she had a chance to even move to the head of the bed, a knock at the front door startled her. She jumped up quickly as the knock came three times strong before a fainting tapping happened two more times. There should have been no house calls at this hour, now at two forty-three in the morning, but it wouldn't have surprised her if Piccolo had come back again to do a check-up on her and her son. The Namek needed no sleep and his watchful eye would have been a small break for her. Chi-Chi glanced at Gohan's sleeping form when she walked to the door to open it fully into the hallway, making sure that the knocking hadn't woken him up before she moved out of the bedroom.

"I'm _coming_," Chi-Chi muttered quietly as three more impatient knocks came. She eventually made it to the front door, placing a hand on the door before retracting her hand quickly. It was cold to the touch as though an arctic breeze had blasted through the door and made it bone-chilling cold. No one she knew could make it _this_ cold and it was too warm both inside and outside for any part of the house to be cold enough where it made her whole body shiver. Whatever or whoever was on the other side seemed to make her want to feel even worse then she already did.

There was no more knocking once she had put her hand on the door, not even a faint scraping of someone retracing their steps and leaving could be heard; she had good hearing, better then even those who had trained their entire lives to hear the smallest of things. Gathering her courage Chi-Chi put her hand on the door knob and flung the door open, fully prepared to face whatever lay on the other side of the door. She no longer cared at what might blast her onto the other side of the Earth, not wanting to waste the opportunity to get out the frustrations and pain that held her captive.

When she poked her head out of the door and looked around, there was nothing there but an empty space. The only thing that was moving was a gathering of leaves that was being swept away by a gust of wind. She stared out into the emptiness, ready to close the door behind her when she looked down. On the step there was a white rose, the steam long and free of thorns with two other buds that were close to opening. Chi-Chi tilted her head and stepped out, picking up the rose and brought it closer to her face; she put it to her nose, savoring the fresh smell before putting it against her cheek. The petals were cold to the touch but the flower still brought a smile to her face.

She looked up at at the night sky, a small bit of the night sky had become clear enough of the dark storm clouds that had stopped for the moment of raining. This allowed the stars to peek out of the gloom, to shine brightly from underneath the void that had kept them from looking down upon the soft Earth. She smiled at that, turning around and walked to the door but stopped just as she put one foot inside of the house. She turned around and looked up at the stars again, her eyes narrowing just slightly. Standing there for several moments her eyes fixed upon the stars that were now beginning to be covered with the clouds once again, she shook her head and walked back into the house.

Closing the door behind her, Chi-Chi pushed her back upon the door and slid to the ground, the tears coming back down her cheeks and fell upon the white rose. For the few seconds that she had been able to see the stars shine from behind the veil of darkness, she had though she had seen Goku's face outlined in the heavens. It was an impossible thought, to see a dead person's face in the stars before it had vanished. Had she really seen him, or was her grief affecting her mind too much? The rose she held in her hand, it was real more then she wished it to be; it brought a small comfort to her, to hold it in her hands.

Chi-Chi placed her right cheek upon the rose, tilting her head ever so slightly as she did. A natural smile came upon her lips, a surge of calm washing over her as she stood up and started to walk back to the bedroom. That night and the rest of the nights that came after would bring no more nightmares to her slumber, no more guilt over things that had or had not been said. She had seen him, the feeling of someone watching over her and Gohan was more of a comfort then she would ever realize. Those eyes that were watching them would make sure that nothing ever happened to them again.

The wind outside moved quicker then before, kicking up dust and leaves from the ground and swirling them around. It all floated together, becoming one with the air and the near silent wind that washed over the land. The dust held a shadow that was walking away from the house as it turned it's head over it's shoulder, a pleasant look in it's nearly hidden eyes and a smile on it's pale lips. Then the dust and leaves were whisked away, the shadow fading away and becoming one with the night once again. It would come back in time, the ever watchful eyes protecting the very treasures that it kept dear to it.

And the wind carried a final whisper of _I love you_ before that, too, was silent.


End file.
